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Data restrictions threaten economic growth, LSEG chief says
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Restrictions on the flow of global data is a critical business concern that should prompt “worry,” David Schwimmer, CEO of the London Stock Exchange Group, said at Semafor’s World Economy Summit in Washington, DC.
“There’s a lot of attention on chips and cars and steel and various other goods, and there’s less focus on the free flow of data. But data plays a critical role in [the] global economy and in [the] growth race,” Schwimmer said on Wednesday.
He acknowledged that there are privacy and national security concerns that may prompt countries to control certain kinds of data. But they must find a balance between those limits “and the ability to have free flow of data across borders in a way that serves growth, serves AI, and can be helpful to the economy.”
He noted that while tariffs on foreign goods have been a major focus of the Trump administration, the president has supported greater data-sharing around the world.
Schwimmer said one example is the 2020 renegotiated free trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada, which included a “very forward-looking digital trade agreement,” he said. US President Donald Trump also signed a free digital trade agreement with Japan during this first term.
“There is meaningful opportunity there, and that’s in contrast with what you have seen in some other countries, where data sovereignty has been more restrictive,” Schwimmer said.
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LSEG has reinvented itself as a major data provider in recent years, thanks to its $27 billion acquisition of Refinitiv in 2021 and its partnership with Microsoft the following year. The strategy has produced significant gains: LSEG recently increased its annual dividend by 13%.
The 10-year partnership with Microsoft allows LSEG to make its data available through the tech giant’s AI, Teams, and other products. Schwimmer said earlier this year that LSEG’s customers have increased data consumption by about 40%.
The Semafor View
The boundaryless pools of money that defined finance in the last 20 years are retreating, and capital is becoming a national resource to be protected. Public and private markets seem set to converge: Where they meet — and which firms stake out territory — could determine finance’s winners over the next decade.
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